Princeton University 2020 Summer Colloquium Series

STEM disciplines are believed to be founded on the idea of meritocracy; recognition earned by the value of the data, which is objective. Such disciplinary cultures resist concerns about implicit or structural biases, and yet, year after year, scientists observe persistent gender and racial inequalities in their labs, departments, and programs. In Equity in Science, to be released by Stanford University Press on 9/1/2020, University of Southern California professor Julie Posselt makes the case that understanding how field-specific cultures develop is a crucial step for bringing about real change. She does this by examining existing equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts across astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, and psychology. These ethnographic case studies reveal the subtle ways that exclusion and power operate in scientific organizations and, sometimes, within change efforts themselves. In this colloquium Posselt will share from two chapters of the book: 1) how quantum physics can inform our understanding of organizational change, and 2) how this is playing out very differently with respect to reform of graduate education in the neighboring disciplines of physics and astronomy. Posselt closes with targeted recommendations for individuals and departments determined to be part of the solution.